1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for aerating fluid so as to create a suitable habitat for the housing of fish, shrimp, and the like marine life. The present invention more particularly relates to aerating apparatus which can be added without permanent connections to a desirable container such as an ice chest or the like, which, when filled at least partially with water provides a suitable habitat for fish, shrimp, and like delicate marine life.
2. General Background and Prior Art
Fishermen have for years been plagued with the problem of keeping live bait such as minnows, shrimp, smaller fish and like delicate marine life alive during the course of a day's fishing. Live bait, and more specifically baitfish, require in general, three things for their survival in a container once removed from their environment. These are the liquid of their natural habitat, be it fresh or salt water, oxygen and temperature control. Any fisherman will tell you the fate of minnows placed in a bucket of water in the hot sun. The minnows will gasp for oxygen as it escapes from the water as its temperature rises, and as the minnows themselves consume it. Many devices have been provided which have attempted to keep fish, shrimp and like live bait alive for periods of time.
Early fisherman were provided with very crude bait wells in the bottom of wooden skifts. Later, aluminum skifts came into the market place, which were equiped with crude live bait wells. Generally, in these early forms of bait wells, no aeration or other mechanical means for adding oxygen to water was provided and the time which bait could be kept alive was limited.
Later, fisherman began using plastic cans such as a garbage can type vessel that had an air pump which pumped air or oxygen directly into the water so as to aerate it. Larger vessels to carry more water while keeping bait alive for longer periods of time, added a tremendous amount of weight to the weight of the boat and likewise made the boat crowded. The use of the air pumps, while helping somewhat, was awkward and clumsy with the air pumps being difficult to maintain. When newer types of aeration devices came onto the market or came into use, there were still two problems which had to be solved. The first problem was that there was often insufficient spray from a sprayhead or like aerator to give the bait adequate oxygen or to dissolve adequate oxygen into the water. Secondly, the pump which was used in the bait well often became clogged with the bait itself, or with trash which accumulated within the vessel. Additionally, many prior art devices are very bulky or expensive, making them unattractive to the sportsman who fishes only on occasional weekends.
Some prior art devices have been patented which have attempted to solve the problems of the prior art. The following table provides a listing of some prior art devices which have been granted patents.
______________________________________ Prior Art Patents Patent No. Inventor(s) Issue Date ______________________________________ 3,835,575 Arnetta B. Kelley September 17, 1974 2,936,542 J.H. Butler, et al May 17, 1960 2,639,906 T.P. Butler May 26, 1953 3,882,498 Don T. Butler July 9, 1974 ______________________________________
3. General Discussion of the Present Invention
The present invention solves the prior art problems and short comings by providing an aeration apparatus which can be added to an existing conventional container such as an ice chest without permanent or damaging attachment thereto. The device provides a water mover or pump separated from the fish by a baffle which divides the container into two sections. The device thus can be removed and stored after use and the container (such as an ice chest) returned to its normally intended use.
The present invention provides an apparatus for aerating a liquid in a container such as a conventional ice chest. Such an ice chest or like container is particularly well adapted to the present invention because of its insulative properties which maintain a desired water temperature. This in conjunction with the apparatus of the present invention which provides suitable aeration to the already temperature controlled water provides an especially suitable habitat for delicate marine life such as fish, shrimp and the like which are used by fishermen for bait.
The present invention provides a baffle which conforms substantially to the cross section of a container such as a conventional ice chest. The baffle has a flow opening therethrough, the opening being provided preferably with a screen which prevents the travel of fish from one side of the baffle to the other. The baffle forms a divider--a first section is created having the desirable fish, shrimp, or like marine life to be used for bait, and the other side of the baffle provides a second section which houses a suitable means for moving the water such as a pump. The pump can preferably be elevated a distance above the bottom of the container so as to prevent the intake of trash which normally settles to the bottom when fluid flows from the aerated and agitated section of the container to the non-aerated section housing the pump.
A sparge or like suitable mechanical means (preferably mounted above the water surface) is provided to transform the fluid pumped by the pump into at least one high speed water jet which strikes the surface of the water in the first section which houses the marine life. This effects a mechanical aeration of the water or other suitable liquid to raise the oxygen content to desireable levels.